The return of Steven Stamkos to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s lineup brings a sense of urgency to the team in a good way.
It signifies that the captain is likely returning from injury early in order to play because of how high the stakes are — Tampa Bay is tied with the Dallas Stars, at a game apiece, in the Stanley Cup Final.
It signals that this moment is now for Tampa. This is it — this is the window to win it all!
For the captain — who has known no other team than Tampa since being drafted first overall by the organization in 2008 — this is the time in his career to win it all.
Stamkos is the spark that is set to strike, proven early in the first period of Game 3 when he scored his first goal of the Stanley Cup playoffs … in his first game in 210 days.
After the goal, which was a nice moment, Stamkos found his way to the bench and his night was over — 2 minutes, 47 seconds of ice time, five shifts, seven seconds with the puck on his stick — but he contributed to the win.
A win that lifted the Lightning to a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
A win that brought Stamkos and the lightening closer to the now!